Search form

Soccer Battles Washington in 2-1 Loss

EUGENE, Ore. - Playing nearly 2/3 of the match a player short, the University of Oregon women's soccer team still mustered one of its strongest efforts of the year before ultimately falling, 2-1, to Washington, in its Pac-10 Conference opener at Pape' Field.

The Ducks (1-8-1, 0-1-0) scored their only goal at 27:42 thanks to junior midfielder Lindsey Werdell who line-drived a penalty kick top right shelf. The chance was created by a foul whistled on Washington midfielder Liz Taylor who had previously bumped UO freshman forward Mele French on a one-on-one run in the left edge of the goal box, approximately 16 yards out.

However, the Ducks had to subsequently adjust their gameplan when starting forward Arlene Tuttle was ejected at 31:27. The sophomore was whistled for her second yellow card after a slight tussle with a UW player as both tried to get up from a minor collision. Her initial foul came less than 10 minutes prior at 21:55, when she ran into a UW player from waiting for a pop fly to land near midfield.

Washington, ranked 19th by Soccer Times and 20th nationally by Soccer America, went up 1-0 initially at 17:56 on a 12-yard hard grounder by sophomore forward Tina Frimpong from the left side to the right corner of the goal, created by an assist by junior forward Melissa Bennett.

After Werdell's score, 50 minutes of scoreless back-and-forth followed until Frimong scored the game's final goal at 75:09 from 17 yards out, also on a Bennett pass bounced in from 10 yards away near midfield. Oregon goalkeeper Sarah Peters raced out to try and intercept the pass, but Frimong got to the ball first and quickly looped it over the senior Duck keeper into the left side of the net from the center edge of the goalbox.

'We came up short, but we're making progress as a team,' Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said. '(With the man disadvantage) it didn't effect us as much in our ball possession, but more made it easier on them. I thought we dealt with it fairly well, and it forced us to raise our game mentally and apply more pressure. We saw glimpses of how good we are, and I was happy that the kids battled to the last second. Their attitude has been impressive, especially when others would may have packed it in.'

At game's end, Washington (6-4-2, 1-0-0) held advantages in shots (12-6), corner kicks (3-1) and fouls (14-10). In goal, Oregon's Peters racked up five saves, and Washington's Hope Solo, last year's Pac-10 Player of the Year, had one save.

Werdell led Oregon in shots (3) and shots on goal (2), while forward Sarah Denner and Valerie Mayer and midfielder Christine Mintz had single shots. Washington's Frimpong led the visitors in shots (3) and shots on goal (3).

The Ducks return to Pape' Field to face Washington State, Sunday, Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. The Cougars opened conference play Friday afternoon, beating Oregon State in Corvallis, 1-0 in double overtime.